Mountain biking and snakes

Saw my first snake the other day while mountain biking (yes, the first
one on five years of mountain biking!) - in fact I damn
near ran over it.

Question: now that I'm spooked and paranoid, what protection (if any)
do you other MTB'ers use against snakes - or do you just assume (as I
have for five years) that you won't come across any.

I would imagine long knicks wouldn't afford much protection

wrote:

I would imagine long knicks wouldn't afford much protection

Snakes bite for two reasons. To disable their prey before eating (if they
can't swallow their prey, they won't bother in the first place), and if they're
threatened (to disable assailant, so they can get away and save themselves).
VERY few snake varieties will hang around to fight you (if you haven't
already tried to corner them).

I've been told that something like 80% of snakebites are around the
feet/ankles and hands/wrists. And only because the person who's been bitten
has tried to capture or kill said snake.
So you can greatly increase your odds of NOT being bitten by avoiding the
above two activities.

If you run over a snake that's been basking in the sun, it *might* have
enough time to bite, but *probably* won't have enough time to put too much, if
any venom in. It apparently takes a bit of time before 'waking up' and getting
ready to inject venom.
If you've been taunting the snake for the past 10 minutes, you can bet it'll
be ready and able to put you down. If I were a betting person, going on the
above odds, I'd be betting on the snake.

That said, very few people die of snakebites in australia, mainly due to
first-aid action.
--
Linux Registered User # 302622 http://counter.li.org

wrote:
Saw my first snake the other day while mountain biking (yes, the first
one on five years of mountain biking!) - in fact I damn
near ran over it.

Question: now that I'm spooked and paranoid, what protection (if any)
do you other MTB'ers use against snakes - or do you just assume (as I
have for five years) that you won't come across any.

I would imagine long knicks wouldn't afford much protection

Greetings,
I would think the best way of avoiding (not defending yourself) in
relation to snakes is to leave them alone where possible. They are
normally as afraid of you as you are of them, and only attack when
provoked in some way.
I have run across dozens of snakes, on bush tracks and on the open road,
and they have never bothered me in any way.
Regards,
Ray.

wrote:

Saw my first snake the other day while mountain biking (yes, the first
one on five years of mountain biking!) - in fact I damn
near ran over it.

Question: now that I'm spooked and paranoid, what protection (if any)
do you other MTB'ers use against snakes - or do you just assume (as I
have for five years) that you won't come across any.

I would imagine long knicks wouldn't afford much protection

I recall reading that about three times as many people die each year in
Australia from bee sting as snake bite, so you need to think rationally
about how much risk is involved.

I read a story about a cyclist killed by a taipan up here in Mackay, but
that was many decades ago. So it seems that the incidence of cyclists
being killed by snakebite, at least around this part of the world, is
relatively low. Then again, most of the venemous varieties live down
south ... thinks ... is that because there are so many rats to attract
them??

P
--
Peter McCallum
Mackay Qld AUSTRALIA

On Sat, 07 May 2005 at 22:23 GMT, (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
Saw my first snake the other day while mountain biking (yes, the first
one on five years of mountain biking!) - in fact I damn
near ran over it.

Question: now that I'm spooked and paranoid, what protection (if any)
do you other MTB'ers use against snakes - or do you just assume (as I
have for five years) that you won't come across any.

MTBers? My dad was a roadie (and alas has not been alive to pass on
his knowledge for quite some time), and he ran over a "stick" with
fangs. It got caught up in his spokes, and thus got tangled up badly.
It was spitting venom everywhere, and it was running down his leg. He
decided to bail off the back, and onto the gravel. I thought the
40km/h figure was impressive, but I was still a youngun

I didn't have the dirty mind I do now to ask him what the nurses were
like when they were pulling gravel from his arse.


He then told me a story how he met a seagull going 20km/h west along
the great ocean road, while he was going 100km/h east. He claims he
got knocked off the back, and hung onto the handlebars and somehow
managed to get himself back on.

--
TimC -- http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/staff/tconnors/
A mouse is a device used to focus xterms.

I recall reading that about three times as many people die each year in
Australia from bee sting as snake bite, so you need to think rationally
about how much risk is involved.

Another interesting stat - that more people die falling off Ayers Rock each
year than are killed in shark attacks[1]. Actually, that's the interesting
thing about stats - if carefully selected, they can prove almost anything
you wish[2].

Neil
[1] That was when you could still climb the rock. Dunno if you still can.
[2] Whereas lies and damned lies depend on your political stance.

SteppenW wrote:
Another interesting stat - that more people die falling off Ayers Rock each
year than are killed in shark attacks[1]. Actually, that's the interesting
thing about stats - if carefully selected, they can prove almost anything
you wish[2].

Statistically speaking that's not 100 per cent true. [3]


Neil
[1] That was when you could still climb the rock. Dunno if you still can.

http://www.deh.gov.au/parks/uluru/no-climb.html

The Uluru climb is the traditional route taken by ancestral Mala men
upon their arrival to Uluru. Anangu do not climb Uluru because of its
great spiritual significance.

Anangu have not closed the climb. They prefer that you - out of
education and understanding - choose to respect their law and culture by
not climbing. Remember that you are a guest on Anangu land.

Also, Anangu traditionally have a duty to safeguard visitors to their
land. They feel great sadness when a person dies or is hurt.

[2] Whereas lies and damned lies depend on your political stance.

[3] "You can fool some of the people some of the time and all of the
people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the
time."
--
Peter McCallum
Mackay Qld AUSTRALIA

"Peter" == Peter McCallum writes:
Peter [3] "You can fool some of the people some of the time and all
Peter of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the
Peter people all of the time."

If someone's fooled all the people all the time then that will never be
known.
--
Cheers
Euan

wrote:

Saw my first snake the other day while mountain biking (yes,
the first one on five years of mountain biking!) - in fact I
damn near ran over it.

Question: now that I'm spooked and paranoid, what protection
(if any) do you other MTB'ers use against snakes - or do you
just assume (as I have for five years) that you won't come
across any.

I would imagine long knicks wouldn't afford much protection

I ran over a small brown snake about a year ago - didn't have
time to avoid it. It was crosing the bike path. I was wearing
shorts and sandals and managed to get my feet off the pedals in
time. Looking down as I went over it, I noticed that it had
stopped and was poised to strike.

I still wear shorts and sandals.

John

Peter McCallum wrote:

I recall reading that about three times as many people die each year in
Australia from bee sting as snake bite, so you need to think rationally
about how much risk is involved.

I read a story about a cyclist killed by a taipan up here in Mackay, but
that was many decades ago. So it seems that the incidence of cyclists
being killed by snakebite, at least around this part of the world, is
relatively low. Then again, most of the venemous varieties live down
south ... thinks ... is that because there are so many rats to attract
them??

I've seen a few snakes mostly off to the side of trails minding thier
own business. I've noticed when I'm doing long hauls uphill like riding
the Oaks Trail backwards from Glenbrook to Woodford, that you tend to
see far more (and other wildlife as well), mostly because you're
travelling so slowly. I'm sure they are still there when you're
whistling past in the opposite direction at 40km/h+ just your eyes tend
to be focussed more on the trails. FWIW body armour may provide some
protection, but I'm not about to rush out and test the theory.

Bees on the other hand I think are far worse. I've been hit twice to
date. Last time was on my commute to work coming down a steep hill and
straight into my cheek. I was probably doing mid 40's and was like
getting banged in the face by a hammer.

Brett